New Years Intentions

New Year’s Resolutions

I am not sure when this will get posted, because I am staying with my college roommate and she is having serious internet problems. (It is as if I have been visiting her and Comcast for the past 2 days.) But I thought that I would post some resolutions. In a moment of internet, while at Popscholar’s house, I glanced at Forge Blog and saw that Melissa is referring to her resolutions as something much more hopeful. I believe that she said intentions, though I am now off line and cannot check. But I liked the spirit of her post and whether or not it is the same term, I am going with intentions for this year. Thank you for that inspiration, Melissa.

I am trying to keep some of my intentions really simply and task oriented and other ones broader and more flexible, about hopes for the coming year. I am also going to show this list to College Roommate and to Scholar Mom (formerly the SSes who were beginning to confuse me in this blog) and get them to help me a bit with accountability.

1. The first connects to the former post about walking to the campus shuttle. I am going to acknowledge that there will be days when I will need my car at school and so I am going to resolve to drive to campus no more than 2 days a week. I see several advantages to the shuttle, as articulated before, but did I mention that the shuttle will give me knitting time as well?

2. Diet and Exercise. These are linked. About a year ago, I was diagnosed, not precisely for the first time, but for the first time as an adult, with polycystic ovarian syndrome. In August and again in November, I had cysts rupture, According to my doctor, though there are drug based ways to treat the problem, the first way to treat the problem is through diet and exercise. I am supposed to eat a high protein, low carb diet. I am supposed to get exercise. I am supposed to loose 20 percent of my body weight. So I am resolving to loose the weight. First, I am going to go to the gym 2 times a week. Second, I am going to commit to recording everything that I eat, to share with the nutritionist and my food buddy, Scholar Mom. I think that mucking with what I actually eat is a bit much for an intention right now. Right now I am simply going to write it all down.

3. I will do Morning Pages every day.

4. I read a New York Times article called The Energy Diet, which was about reducing your contribution to energy waste in a way that will be almost no effort. I am going to spend an afternoon going on the energy diet.

5. I am going to get my house organized. I am going to get rid of stuff that I do not use or need, via the consignment shop, the Book Nook and the library, and freecycle.

6. I am going to do my best to build community in my life in Atlanta. I am going to send postcards to friends far away, even if I can’t manage letters.

7. I am going to clean my house for 15 minutes a day.

8. I look forward to knitting lots and getting better at making beautiful things.

9. I will finish my formal course work this year, which is so terribly exciting. Even though I think I might take a class in the fall anyway.

10. Probably, though not definitely, I will take my comprehensive exams in this calendar year!

11. I will present my first paper at a conference this year, which feels like a real step into the world of the grown up scholar!

12. I am going to investigate my local produce options in town. I am not sure how much I will be away over the summer, so I may not want a CSA share, but I did find a list of farmer’s markets in town and cut it out for my fridge. I am going to try to go to some of those, which will be super fun and I am going to research CSAs in case I am in town for enough of the summer. Partly, I want to do this because of the values piece, but partly, I miss that world.

13. I want to go and sit and read at the dog park while Greta runs.

14. I think that this year, I will start to learn Hebrew. But not until after I have passed my required-for-the-degree God damned language exams.

15. Budget:
• I am going to keep my checkbook balanced.
• I am going to write down everything on which I spend money.
• I am going to reduce credit card debt.
• I am going to think critically about how I work my expenditures.